Neon and Plasma

Neon Artists Initiatives

She Bends

She Bends is an organization dedicated to building a more equitable future for neon through public education, curatorial projects, and artist programs that foster diversity and sustainability.

The skills acquired to learn neon have traditionally been passed down via the “master-apprentice” trade in which an accomplished artist or craftsperson shares their skills with a beginner. Those with skills and knowledge determine and influence the next generation of artists within the neon community. Historically, the neon industry has been predominantly white and male-centered.

She Bends: Redefining Neon Legacy is an exhibition featuring nine artists with intersecting identities alongside the women who taught them. Together, their pieces celebrate neon teaching methods and the women who have practiced knowledge-sharing leadership over the past two decades. Their collaborations have reshaped the neon pipeline and transformed the skill set from a tool for industry and capitalist profit to an artistic material for self-expression, personal narratives, and cultural identity politics.

You can see Rïse Peacock's full article on She Bends: Redefining Neon Legacy | Corning Museum of Glass (cmog.org)

Biographies in the Rakow Collections

Anne Katrine Senstad

Stephen Antonakos

Francois Morellet

Keith Sonnier

Paul Hartigan

Mary Weatherford

Exhibitions